Blue Jays reliever ranks near top in new stat

BrooksGate has released a new stat metric called Stuff+, and Nance finds himself tied for 14th place on the Top 50 list. BrooksGate describes it as the pitchers who have the nastiest stuff in baseball.

Although that is inherently subjective, Stuff+ doesn't look at innings pitch or games played, rather it takes account things like spin rate, velocity, release point, and other physical characteristics of pitches.

What it doesn't account for is a pitcher's control.

Nance finds himself tied with a former teammate. Former Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano also sits in 14th place, along with Griffin Jax of the Twins and Aroldis Chapman of the Boston Red Sox. All three have a Stuff+ of 134.

Further down the list, former Blue Jays #1 prospect Nate Pearson sits in 26th place with a score of 129.

So is the pitcher with the nastiest stuff? That would be Miami Marlins reliever Calvin Faucher, who tops everybody with a score of 148. At the other end, the list is bottomed out by Blake Snell, Carlos Rodon and Hunter Bigge, each with a score of 122.

Nance had mixed success with the Blue Jays last season, going 0-3 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 games. While he most likely begin the year in Triple-A, he will be a good depth option for the team during the season.